Automatic ink ductor control for printing presses



Jan. 31, 1967 J. LEVlTON 3,301,182

AUTOMATIC INK DUCTOR CONTROL FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed Dec. 10, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 AUTO I /MANUAL Jan. 31, 1967 L vn' 3,301,182

AUTOMATIC INK DUCTOR CONTROL FOR PRINTING PRESSES Filed Dec. 10, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,301,182 Patented Jan. 31, 1967 ice 3,301,182 AUTOMATIC INK DUCTOR CONTROL FOR PRINTlNG PRESSES Jan Leviton, Brooklyn, N.Y., assignor to Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation, Syosset, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 10, 1964, Ser. No. 417,454 4 Claims. (Cl. 101-351) This invention pertains to printing presses, and especially to rotary presses which print upon individual sheets that are automatically fed into the printing couple or couples during successive operating cycles of the machine. Machines of this type conventionally have provisions for tripping the press, or preventing the contact of the inked form with the platen, if it should happen that a blank sheet has not been fed to a position in which it will be imprinted.

In presses of the above type, and especially those employed for lithographic offset printing, it is also conventional to provide means for interrupting the supply of ink from the ink fountain to the distributing and break-up rolls upon failure of the supply of sheets to be printed. An example of such a machine is given in U.S. patent to Lipton et al., No. 1,558,686. However, there are occasions when the press operator wishes to discontinue the supply of ink even though sheets may continue to be fed through the press (for example, at the end of a press run, to exhaust the ink carried by the plate, or by the distributing and break-up rolls). There are other occasions when the press operator desires to continue the operation of the ink supply even when no sheets are being fed into the machine. Thus, it is desirable to provide two different manual over-rides of the automatic ink control system. If, however, the operator has conditioned an over-ride so that ink will be supplied even though paper is not fed, and fails to restore it to the automatic condition before starting a press run, the locking-out of the sheet dectector will entirely vitiate the automatic feature, and thereafter during the run failures of the sheet feeding means, or of the paper supply, will not discontinue the supply of ink to the press.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an automatic ink ductor control for printing presses with provision for both of the indicated kinds of manual override (that is, to allow feeding of paper without ink, and also to allow feeding of ink without paper), and in which there is also provision for automatically restoring the over-ride control, from one of its operative conditions, to the normal condition, if a regular press run is commenced, and if the operator should inadvertently fail to restore the over-ride control to normal. Specifically, the invention provides this automatic restoration from the condition of ink-without-paper over-ride, and it accomplishes this by sensing the feeding of the first sheet of a press run (which feeding is of course possible only when the operator has supplied the machine with blank sheets and otherwise conditions the machine for sheet feeding), so that during the remainder of the run the machine will be conditioned to interrupt the ink supply upon any failure of sheet feed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a single control lever which can be manually operated to three different positions to carry out the conditioning of the press as above described, for maximum simplicity of operation.

Still another object of the invention is to accomplish the above operational features with a minimum modification of existing press structure, for reasons of constructional economy as well as to simplify the addition of the new features to existing equipment.

In general, the invention utilizes the known sheet feed detector of conventional presses to provide a mechanical signal each time a sheet is actually fed toward the printing couple, and it utilizes this signal not only to accomplish the normal interlock between sheet feeding and ink supply, but also to perform the automatic restoration of the ink-without-paper over-ride to its normal condition, as desired during press runs. A compound lever is introduced into the system between the sheet-feed sensor and the ink ductor roll control, which in the normal operation acts as a single or unitary control lever, but whose latching end is independently movable against a spring bias when the ink-without paper over-ride is in use. In that condition, the latching end also serves to hold the manual over-ride control in its said over-ride position, but in such a way that the latch is released from this holding position when, and if, a sheet is actually fed towards the printing couple before the operator has manually restored the over-ride control to normal automatic position. The over-ride control itself is spring-biased from its said over-ride position toward its normal automatic position, and the releasing movement of the latch just described therefore effects the automatic restoration of the manual control to normal upon the feeding of the first sheet in a press run, and the press thereafter operates as usual.

The invention will now be described in considerable detail in connection with a preferred embodiment thereof, given by way of example rather than for purposes of illustration. The description which follows refers to the accomplishing drawings, forming a part hereof, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary illustration of only those parts of a known printing press which are essential to an understanding of the invention, showing the invention applied thereto.

FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1, with parts shown in section taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary schematic view of a portion of FIG. 1, illustrating the parts in one of the two over-ride conditions, namely that allowing the feeding of paper without the feed of ink.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, showing the parts when neither of the over-ride conditions is being employed.

FIG. 6 is .a view similar to FIG. 4 showing the parts in the other of the over-ride conditions (ink without paper), and indicating in dotted lines the operation of the automatic restoring feature for this over-ride.

In order to simplify the disclosure of the present invention, reference is made to a known form of multipurpose printing press as described and illustrated in U.S. Patent No. 2,539,383 (Davidson) granted January 30, 1951, and the earlier patents mentioned therein. By way of background, it is noted that so-called press-tripping (prevention of engagement of the printing form against the platen or against a second form) was provided for operator control in the very early development of the art, as was the connection of the tripping control to a sheet.- sensing means to provide for automatic press tripping in the event a sheet failed to be fed properly. With only such controls, however, ink would continue to be supplied to the ink distributing and break-up rolls, and to the plates or forms, resulting in over-inking of the forms and, in the case of plantographic printing, improper balance between the ink and water (or dampening fluid) that would produce inferior results on sheets printed after operation of the tripping means.

To overcome this problem, presses were developed in which the supply of ink to the distributing system could be interrupted when required, including following the operation of the tripping control. This interruption conveniently was obtained by interrupting the oscillation of an ink ductor roll which was included in the ink supply system, and which periodically oscillated (during each press cycle) from ink-receiving contact with an ink fountain roll to ink-transferring contact with the first roll of the distributing and break-up system. In the prior Davidson patent referred to above, the ink ductor roll was designated by numeral 237 in FIG. 4, the ink fountain roll by numeral 232, and the first roll of the distributing system by numeral 238. These parts are duplicated in FIG. 1 of the present disclosure, which will now be described.

In FIG. 1, the ink fountain is indicated by numeral 10, with the usual ductor blade 12 and fountain roll 14. The ink ductor roll is shown at 16, journalled in end bearings carried by yokes (one of which is shown at 18) which pivot together with axle or cross shaft 20 to which is secured a bell crank lever 22 oscillated against the tension of spring 24 by means of the cam 26 which rotates in synchronism with the press drive. The bell crank and cam may, of course, be duplicated at the other side of the press frame, and the action of the cam or cams in oscillating the ink duct-or roll between the fountain roll and distributing roll 28 is fully set forth in the Davidson patent, as is the remainder of the ink distributing system. These parts are omitted from the present specification in the interest of clarity.

FIG. 1 also indicates a portion of the sheet-sensing system of a known press of this type, including a member 30 which oscillates through a certain angle, during each press cycle, under control of the sheet feed sensing device such as finger F and arm G in FIG. 1 of the Davidson patent. This oscillation of member 30 provides a sheetfeed signal which is utilized to control the over-ride devices of the present invention, either to permit, or to inhibit, the oscillation of the bell crank lever 22 to bring the ink ductor roll 16 into contact with the fountain roll 14.

During normal operation of the press, the follower roller 32 at one end of bell crank lever 22 oscillates once in each cycle to allow the ductor roll to replenish the ink supply to the first distributing roll as described in the Davidson patent. The spring 24 urges roller 32 against the cam due to the tension applied by the spring to a pin 34 at the upper end of lever 22, but clockwise rotation of the lever 22 can be restrained by the engagement of a latch 36 now to be described.

Latch 36 has at its upper end a hook formation 38 engageable with pin 34 (or another pin carried by lever 22) and may thus prevent the clockwise oscillation of ductor roll 16 against the fountain roll 14, the surface of cam 26 dropping away from the roller 32 when the latch is engaged. The portion 40 of the latch 36, above the hook, is shaped so as not to impede the motion of lever 22 if the latch should swing to the right at a time when pin 34 is in its path. The latch formation, in such a case, merely allows pin 34 to slide idly along surface 46, latch 36 being urged to the right by a spring 42, and pivoted to the machine frame at 44.

Latch 36 in effect forms a part of a compound lever pivoted on the machine frame, and including a lower arm portion 46 also pivoted at 44 and extending downward, and terminating at the sheet-feed sensor controlled member 30, to which arm 46 is connected by a pin 48 on member 30 engaging (for example) in a slot 50 in the arm. In order to provide individual length-wise adjustments of arm 46 and latch 36 with respect to pivot screw 44, and with respect to each other, a pair of discs 52 and 54 are provided as better shown in FIG. 2, each rotatable about the pivot screw 44 and having an eccentric shoulder engaging a corresponding hole in the latch and the arm 46. The discs 52 and 54 may be knurled for easy adjustment of the length-wise positions of the latch and the lower arm, and then secured in position by tightening the screw 44, thus fixing the positions of the latch and the arm, without impeding their rotation. To this end, the eccentric shoulders may be slightly thicker than the latch and the arm, or suitable shims may be employed.

As also shown in FIG. 2, the upper end of arm 46, which extends above the pivot 44, is bent as at 56 to engage one side of the latch 36, and thereby to move latch 36 to the left (in FIG. 1) when arm 46 swings counterclockwise (typically, through an angle of about 14 degrees) when the member 30 oscillates in response to the sensing of a sheet being fed toward the printing elements. Latch 36 is therefore positively removed from the path of pin 34 at all times during normal press operation, when it could otherwise engage the pin, unless there is a failure of a sheet to be fed; in which case arm 46 will remain in its dashed line position (FIG. 1) when cam 26 starts to move the ductor roll towards the fountain roll. Latch 36 will then be swung to the right by spring 42, and will hook over the pin 34, preventing bell crank 22 from following the cam 26, and thus preventing the ductor roll 16 from contacting the fountain roll 14 if a sheet is not fed properly during this press cycle.

The over-ride control lever of the invention is designated by numeral 58, and is pivoted to the machine frame at 60. A side arm 62 of this control lever is connected to the machine frame by a tension spring 64, which is relatively loose in the position of lever 58 shown in FIG. 1, and insutficient to move lever 58 to the left against the force of a hook detent 66 mounted on the frame (FIG. 3), the hook being formed of spring metal and so shaped as to ride against the rear of lever 58 when the latter is moved to the left in FIG. 1 against fixed stop 74, and to retain it frictionally in that left position. However, when the control lever 58 is swung to the right (in FIG. 1), the spring 64 is tensioned, and tends to return the lever to the left (counter-clockwise) against the hook 66.

Control lever 53 is also a bell crank lever, and its lower end is shaped to provide a portion 68 engageable above the lowermost position of pin 34, when the control lever 58 is swung left (Off), to restrain all oscillatory motion of the bell crank 22, even when latch 36 is withdrawn in response to the occurrence of paper feed signals, and consequent swinging motions of arm 46. This position of lever 58 constitutes the paper-without-ink over-ride, and lever 58 will remain in this position until restored by a purposeful movement thereof by the operator. FIG. 4 shows the parts at such times, the lever 58 holding bell crank 22 stationary regardless of the position of latch 36.

In the intermediate position of control lever 58, shown in full lines in FIG. 1 and also in FIG. 5, the lower end of the control lever lies between the path of pin 34 and a turned-down lip 70 of latch 38, and out of their respective paths of movement, so that normal (Automatic) operation of the ink ductor is permitted, the same swinging freely unless latched out by the failure of a signal from the sheet sensing means.

In the right-hand position of control lever 58, also indicated in solid lines in FIG. 6, the lower portion has been swung to the left from its FIG. 1 position, and a rounded nose portion '72 thereof comes to a position in which it impedes rightward motion of latch 36, even if the latter is freed by the clockwise swing of arm 46. This position of the contnol lever 58 provides the Manual or ink-withoutpaper over-ride condition, but it will be noted that when in this position, lever 58 is urged back to its center position by the tension of spring 64.

As best shown in FIG. 6, when control lever 58 is in its right-hand position, established by one of two fixed stop pins or the like 74, 76 on the machine frame, its rounded nose portion 72 rides up along the lip 70 and comes to a position where it will be engaged by an inclined surface 78 of the lip, so angled that so long as latch 36 remains in its full-line position (FIG. 6) the nose cannot return downward past the corner of the lip, the spring 42 of latch 36 being in effect stronger than spring 64 of lever 58 in this condition of the parts.

Therefore, the control lever 58 will be retained in its ink-without-paper over-ride position when it has once been placed there by the operator. However, if the operator now supplies paper to the press, the passage of the first sheet toward the printing elements will operate the sheet sensor 30, and will swing arm 46 its maximum amount counter-clockwise, and its bent-over part 56 will move latch 36 slightly to the left of its solid line position in FIG. 6; for example, to its dotted line position in that figure. When this occurs, the lower end of control lever 58 is no longer held by the inclined surface 78, and the spring 64 immediately restores the control lever to its center position, against hook 66.

The proper relative angulation of arm 46 and latch 36, constituting the compound lever, to ensure that latch 36 receives the slight additional leftward motion indicated in FIG. 6, is readily set by the use of the discs 52 and 54 as above described.

From the foregoing, it will be understood that while the control lever 58 will remain indefinitely in either its center position or its left-hand position, it remains only conditionally in its right-hand position. Hence, if after a period during which the operator has called for ink-without-paper over-ride, he initiates a paper supply to begin a press run without remembering to restore the control lever to center position, the passage of the first fed sheet towards the printing members will automatically cause the control lever to be restored to normal for the run.

While the invention has been described herein in considerable detail as embodied "in one form of press, and as incorporating various specialized components, it can obviously be adapted to other forms of presses, and constructed in various equivalent ways to accomplish the same improved results, all as will readily occur to those skilled in the art. The scope of the invention is not intended to be limited by the details given above, but only as required by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a printing press of the type including an ink fountain, an ink distributing roller, an ink ductor roll mounted for intermittent swinging movement between said ink fountain and said distributing roller, an oscillating lever connected to the mounting of said ductor roll for swinging the same, cam means for oscillating said lever in synchnonism with press drive cycles, paper feed sensing means, latch means normally urged to a first position in which it it holds such lever out of engagement with said cam to hold said ductor roll out of in-transfer relation to said ink fountain, and means responsive to the operation of said sensing means for moving said latch means to a second position away from said lever to allow said ductor roll to swing into ink-transfer relation to said ink fountain, the improvement which comprises;

(a) a one-way drive connection between said sensing means and said latch means permitting movement of said latch means towards its second position independently of the operation of said sensing means,

(b) a manually operable control lever movable through an intermediate idle position between first and second extreme positions.

(c) said control lever having a portion which in one of its extreme positions engages said oscillating lever to hold the same out of engagement with said cam to discontinue the ink supply independently of the position of said latch means,

(d) said control lever having a portion which in the other of its extreme positions engages said latch means to hold the latter in its said second position away from said oscillating lever, to permit ink supply independently of the sensing of paper feed by said sensing means,

(e) spring bias means urging said control lever from its said other extreme position towards its intermediate idle position,

(f) a locking formation on said latch means for holding said control lever in its said other extreme position against the force of said spring bias means,

(g) and means controlled by said sensing means for moving said locking formation away from said control lever to allow the latter to be restored to its intermediate position upon the occurrence of a paper feed operation.

2. A printing press in accordance with claim 1, in which said latch means and said sensing means together comprise the parts of a compound lever pivoted on the frame of said press.

3. A printing press in accordance with claim 2, in which said parts of said compound lever are relatively adjustably pivoted on the frame of said press.

4. A printing press in accordance with claim 2, including eccentric disc means for relatively adjusting the angular relation of said parts.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,558,686 10/1925 Lipton et al l01148 X 1,585,367 5/1926 Blaine l0l351 2,248,926 7/1941 Meisel 101-247 2,788,742 4/1957 French 101351 3,202,095 8/1965 Sather et al 101352 X ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner.

DAVID KLEIN, Examiner.

I. R. FISHER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A PRINTING PRESS OF THE TYPE INCLUDING AN INK FOUNTAIN, AN INK DISTRIBUTING ROLLER, AN INK DUCTOR ROLL MOUNTED FOR INTERMITTENT SWINGING MOVEMENT BETWEEN SAID INK FOUNTAIN AND SAID DISTRIBUTING ROLLER, AN OSCILLATING LEVER CONNECTED TO THE MOUNTING OF SAID DUCTOR ROLL FOR SWINGING THE SAME, CAM MEANS FOR OSCILLATING SAID LEVER IN SYNCHRONISM WITH PRESS DRIVE CYCLES, PAPER FEED SENSING MEANS, LATCH MEANS NORMALLY URGED TO A FIRST POSITION IN WHICH IT IT HOLDS SUCH LEVER OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID CAM TO HOLD SAID DUCTOR ROLL OUT OF IN-TRANSFER RELATION TO SAID INK FOUNTAIN, AND MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE OPERATION OF SAID SENSING MEANS FOR MOVING SAID LATCH MEANS TO A SECOND POSITION AWAY FROM SAID LEVER TO ALLOW SAID DUCTOR ROLL TO SWING INTO INK-TRANSFER RELATION TO SAID INK FOUNTAIN, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES; (A) A ONE-WAY DRIVE CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID SENSING MEANS AND SAID LATCH MEANS PERMITTING MOVEMENT OF SAID LATCH MEANS TOWARDS ITS SECOND POSITION INDEPENDENTLY OF THE OPERATION OF SAID SENSING MEANS, (B) A MANUALLY OPERABLE CONTROL LEVER MOVABLE THROUGH AN INTERMEDIATE IDLE POSITION BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND EXTREME POSITIONS. (C) SAID CONTROL LEVER HAVING A PORTION WHICH IN ONE OF ITS EXTREME POSITIONS ENGAGES SAID OSCILLATING LEVER TO HOLD THE SAME OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID CAM TO DISCONTINUE THE INK SUPPLY INDEPENDENTLY OF THE POSITION OF SAID LATCH MEANS, (D) SAID CONTROL LEVER HAVING A PORTION WHICH IN THE OTHER OF ITS EXTREME POSITIONS ENGAGES SAID LATCH MEANS TO HOLD THE LATTER IN ITS SAID SECOND POSITION AWAY FROM SAID OSCILLATING LEVER, TO PERMIT INK SUPPLY INDEPENDENTLY OF THE SENSING OF PAPER FEED BY SAID SENSING MEANS, (E) SPRING BIAS MEANS URGING SAID CONTROL LEVER FROM ITS SAID OTHER EXTREME POSITION TOWARDS ITS INTERMEDIATE IDLE POSITION, (F) A LOCKING FORMATION ON SAID LATCH MEANS FOR HOLDING SAID CONTROL LEVER IN ITS SAID OTHER EXTREME POSITION AGAINST THE FORCE OF SAID SPRING BIAS MEANS, (G) AND MEANS CONTROLLED BY SAID SENSING MEANS FOR MOVING SAID LOCKING FORMATION AWAY FROM SAID CONTROL LEVER TO ALLOW THE LATTER TO BE RESTORED TO ITS INTERMEDIATE POSITION UPON THE OCCURRENCE OF A PAPER FEED OPERATION. 